tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78545031747944648322018-03-07T18:38:43.380-05:00Techni-HO HandbookA place for consultants or consultant wannabees to read valuable insights on the world of technical consulting.eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-84210351673977571602015-01-19T12:59:00.004-05:002015-01-19T12:59:54.803-05:00Diary of a newly minted Social Media Content marketing manager: Week oneStarted of 2015 with a new role at work, managing the content marketing process for my employer. And already I am not sure we are proceeding in a rational direction.<br /><br />It all got very messy right at the beginning with LinkedIn.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/p/8/005/075/32e/1c4c65e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/p/8/005/075/32e/1c4c65e.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: LinkedIn.com</td></tr></tbody></table>We have had a customer page for several years already before this new role cam to me. We had been using it for the last year more actively to promote job postings for our various openings globally to some success. The company page, while not very active was at least alive and somebody in the company had been using it.<br /><br />No problem, I just log into my LinkedIn account and ask the current admin for admin rights.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://replygif.net/i/586.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://replygif.net/i/586.gif" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><h4>Lesson 1:&nbsp;</h4>On LinkedIn you cannot avoid granting real individuals rights to your real company pages by creating &nbsp;a "dummy account" that has the name of "Company_Name@Company.com" &nbsp;or anything of that kind.<br /><h4>Lesson 2:&nbsp;</h4>If you mistakenly assign admin privileges to said "dummy account" you will shortly get a message that looks like this:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vielen Dank, dass Sie sich in dieser Sache mit uns in Verbindung gesetzt haben. Bei der Überprüfung von Namen in Profilen haben wir festgestellt, dass Ihr Namensfeld unsere Nutzervereinbarung verletzt. Es ist sehr wichtig, dass die Integrität persönlicher Profile und anderer durch uns bereitgestellter Dienste bewahrt wird. Daher muss ein persönliches Konto auf LinkedIn folgende Kriterien erfüllen:</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;• Sie müssen Ihren richtigen Vor- und Nachnamen verwenden</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">• Ein Konto darf nur im Namen einer natürlichen Person erstellt werden.</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">• Ein Konto darf nicht von Mitgliedern einer Gruppe oder eines Unternehmens gemeinsam genutzt werden.</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">• Ein Konto darf nicht zusätzlich zu anderen Konten verwendet werden.</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;Anstatt ein Profil zu erstellen, das Sie mit anderen Personen gemeinsam nutzen, empfehlen wir Ihnen, eine Seite für eine Gruppe oder ein Unternehmen zu erstellen. Dies wird sicherstellen, dass Sie in Übereinstimmung mit unserer Nutzervereinbarung handeln und wird künftige Unterbrechungen bei der Nutzung Ihres Kontos verhindern. Hier ein paar weitere Informationen dazu, wie Sie auf LinkedIn einen Bereich zur gemeinsamen Nutzung erstellen können:</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;• Gruppe: https://hilfe.linkedin.com/app/answers/global/id/6/ft/de – Durch eine LinkedIn Gruppe wird Ihnen und Ihren Gruppenmitgliedern ein Ort bereitgestellt, an dem Sie interessante Punkte diskutieren und mitteilen, sowie neue geschäftliche Kontakte entdecken können.</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;• Unternehmensseite: https://hilfe.linkedin.com/app/answers/global/id/1561/ft/eng – Auf einer Unternehmensseite können Sie grundlegende Informationen über Ihr Unternehmen mitteilen, sowie die Produkte, Services und Stellenangebote Ihres Unternehmens präsentieren. Dann können Mitglieder Ihrem Unternehmen folgen, Updates erhalten und über wichtige Entwicklungen informiert bleiben.</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;Aufgrund der Art dieses Kontos können wir leider die Einschränkung nicht aufheben und/oder dieses Konto mit einem anderen zusammenlegen.</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;Wenn Sie eine E-Mail-Adresse verwenden möchten, die mit diesem Konto verbunden ist und ein neues Konto unter ihrem richtigen Namen eröffnen möchten, geben Sie mir bitte Bescheid und ich kann dieses Konto für Sie schließen.</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;Vielen Dank für Ihre Kooperation.</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;Mit freundlichen Grüßen</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Elena</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">LinkedIn Trust &amp; Safety</span></blockquote></blockquote><i>tl;dr</i> (in english) your account is broken and you cannot use it. You must set account to be a REAL PERSON.<br /><br /><br /><h4>Lesson 3:&nbsp;</h4>When you try to access the account that has been found to be in violation of the real person rule then you will find this:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ceTZMdAaAQQ/VL1Dt42hKaI/AAAAAAAAjec/J_MQnAfzmNE/s1600/linked%2Bin%2Bbroken.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ceTZMdAaAQQ/VL1Dt42hKaI/AAAAAAAAjec/J_MQnAfzmNE/s1600/linked%2Bin%2Bbroken.png" height="110" width="400" /></a></div><h4>Lesson 4:</h4>When you try to contact customer support to resolve the issue, they will then tell you this:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">&nbsp;<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thanks for contacting us. Someone from our support team will get back to you as soon as possible.</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;If you can sign in to your LinkedIn account, you can check the status of your submitted tickets any time in the Support History section of our Help Center.</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;Regards,</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;Your LinkedIn Customer Experience Team</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;*** This message is automatically generated by our system to show we've received your ticket request. ***</span></blockquote><div>Which brings you back to attempting to log in and getting back to lesson 3. Rinse repeat.</div><div><br /></div><div>What have we learned? At LinkedIn there is absolutely NO WAY to avoid having individuals be granted Admin Rights to your company page. Do not create artificial people or fakey named accounts, and if you do avoid using "LinkedIn@companyname.com as the contact email. it is a dead giveaway.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>three weeks, dozens of email, and several telephone/chat sessions later we finally rectified the situation with LinkedIn to grant me-a real person-admin rights, after which I granted rights to my boss and one other teammate who I hope leave as their own REAL NAME accounts and do not change to a placeholder account.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/YrX2OpbJTlQ" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2015/01/diary-of-newly-minted-social-media.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-85331293588540841842013-10-28T08:03:00.000-04:002013-10-28T08:03:20.301-04:00Coach seats are getting even smaller???On my last flight to Europe on a Wide-body jet I had the honor of sharing my share of an 8 seat wide row with a decidedly non-personal space minded big framed guy. No matter what I did all flight long, I could not keep the guy (awake or otherwise) out of my seat space. His elbows never entered his own space for the duration of the flight, and whenever we retrieved his phone/iPod from his breast pocket I had to "wax the car" to keep from getting my nose busted.<br /><br />That flight was on-board an Airbus A330 class jet. The seating arrangement on these happens to be the old standard 2-4-2 arrangement.<br /><a href="http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Delta_Airlines/Delta_Airlines_Airbus_A330_Version_2.php">http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Delta_Airlines/Delta_Airlines_Airbus_A330_Version_2.php</a><br /><br />But it would seem that despite our tendency as a species to be getting wider, the seats on the planes we ride are getting narrower.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/MK-CH279A_THINS_G_20131023174815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="630" src="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/MK-CH279A_THINS_G_20131023174815.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304384104579141941949066648">http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304384104579141941949066648</a><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/9kRrw_hftFY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2013/10/coach-seats-are-getting-even-smaller.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-56925830363618092322012-09-17T10:51:00.000-04:002012-09-17T10:51:40.085-04:00New global phone: Droid RazrEntering a new era in my smart phone ownership. 4G along with the global access that I need for work.<br /><a href="http://www.amazonwireless.com/dp/B0072JP5KM/ref=as_li_tf_il?_encoding=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B0072JP5KM&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=kam48236_wishlist-20" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;ASIN=B0072JP5KM&amp;Format=_SL110_&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=kam48236_wishlist-20" width="108" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=kam48236_wishlist-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=B0072JP5KM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> <br />I just got issued a new <a href="http://www.amazonwireless.com/dp/B0072JP5KM/ref=as_li_tf_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B0072JP5KM&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=selfp-20">Motorola Droid Razr</a> for work. This is a welcome upgrade to my weathered and road weary Droid 2 Global.<br /><br />I opted to forego the Apple iPhone 4s (which many of my colleagues picked) for the Droid as I wanted to finally get up to 4G speeds. Especially since the contract term for the phones at work are 2 years, I did not want to be holstered to an essentially already 2 year old platform.<br /><br />So far I am not disappointed in the phone. Compared to the Gingerbread Android OS the new Ice Cream Sandwich OS is already a great improvement. the OS is responsive and intuitive as I expected from the Android system. Not to mention that with the Dual Core processor, I have much less lagginess in basic operation.<br /><br />The phone is amazingly thin and light weight. Even in it's case (a silicon model ordered for me as part of the "package" our office decided on).<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-4485827-11146930" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_top"><img alt="" border="0" height="166" src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-4485827-11146930" width="200" /></a><br /><br /><u><b>Plusses</b></u><br /><ul><li>Bigger screen (4.3 inch)</li><li>4G speeds</li><li>Higher resolution</li><li>dual processors</li><li>more RAM</li><li>More battery life (allegedly)</li><li><br /></li></ul><div><b><u>Minuses</u></b></div><div><ul><li>shipped without SD card upgrade (only 8 GB onboard)</li><li>no QWERTY slideout keyboard</li><li>No removable-swappable battery (but hopefully longer battery life)</li></ul><div>Already this phone is a little off the cutting edge. As Motorola just released the<a href="http://www.razr.com/?WT.srch=1&amp;WT.mc_id=NA_US_PPC_DROID_RAZR_Family_Home&amp;WT.mc_ev=click#/design"> newest generation</a> of line of phones. the <a href="http://www.amazonwireless.com/dp/B0096QYH80/ref=as_li_tf_il?_encoding=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B0096QYH80&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=selfp-20">Razr M</a>, a soon to be released RAZR HD, and RAZR HD MAXX. But it seems that besides OS and processor versions the RAZR and the newer lines are still highly comparable, and I don't yet feel too &nbsp;much phone envy.&nbsp;</div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=selfp-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=B0096QYH80" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> <br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.amazonwireless.com/dp/B0096QYH80/ref=as_li_tf_il?_encoding=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B0096QYH80&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=selfp-20" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;ASIN=B0096QYH80&amp;Format=_SL160_&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=selfp-20" /></a>Taking the phone on the first road trip this coming week, so we will see just how well it performs in the field. But to date I am pleased with the phone, and glad I opted out of the iPhone.</div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/LsNcNiO7KPA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2012/09/new-global-phone-droid-razr.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-6876293850265341422012-05-30T01:15:00.000-04:002012-05-30T01:15:02.685-04:00What Hipmunk.com taught me about engineering....I have made some posts before about an idea of needing a more <a href="http://kam-stampingguru.blogspot.com/2010/08/shifting-paradigm-in-analysis-passfail.html">Comprehensive Methodology for Many engineering problems</a>. Spefically, the windmill I choose to tilt at is Sheet Metal Stamping Process Engineering (formability). While I wont user this space to get too far into that topic (you can follow up at the post listed above or in the book Sheet Metal Forming Processes and Constitutive modeling (shameless plug).<br /><br />But I digress, I have been trying for a while to find an analogy that people would understand for the need and drive of people to be able to digest information based on multiple-dimensional-Decision-Drivers. For most people you could weigh most decisions based on Function-Quality-Cost-Time. We want something done (function), and done well (quality) for a reasonable cost (duh) on time. How well any solution achieves that desire should be&nbsp;measured&nbsp;upon those criteria.<br /><br />Whenever, we discussed this idea with others; they frequently tell me that either they are not responsible for cost or project time, or that they already have rules and standards in place that are used to govern whether or not they achieve their cost and time goals. This has become an unassailable truth in their minds one which I sought to alter (as we are selling software that aims to address Quality-Cost-LeadTime for sheet metal stamping processes).<br /><br />Finally, while searching for flights to our international sales meeting I stumbled upon an analogy I think should hit home. Hipmunk.com showed me the way...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ffh33p24Edo/T8WkUxgNf_I/AAAAAAAAGkw/gMlN7TcNvT8/s1600/hipmunk+_if+cost+was+not+a+metric.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ffh33p24Edo/T8WkUxgNf_I/AAAAAAAAGkw/gMlN7TcNvT8/s400/hipmunk+_if+cost+was+not+a+metric.bmp" width="400" /></a></div>.<br />Assuming that arrival time was the most important quality function the flights as shown above are ranked as the best. If departure time was the most important quality metric then the views would be completely different.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6QxFbTG2Xoo/T8WlLNtu-VI/AAAAAAAAGk4/Lfaju1ezxIg/s1600/hipmunk+_if+cost+was+not+a+metric2.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6QxFbTG2Xoo/T8WlLNtu-VI/AAAAAAAAGk4/Lfaju1ezxIg/s400/hipmunk+_if+cost+was+not+a+metric2.bmp" width="400" /></a></div><br />Now these flight options must clearly come with different costs. That economic reality is very clear to everybody. But what if the internet did not allow for explicit display of costs? What if our company followed a process flow that stipulated that one department sets financial rules and the other departments had to fit those rules while not knowing the numbers used to generate the rules.<br /><br />This is not such a far fetched idea....so let's imagine how these flight plan engineering rules might look:<br /><br /><ol><li>Airlines charge more for convenience, therefore direct flights should be avoided for they will cost more</li><li>Airlines route to hub airports to optimize on flight capacity, so flights that make use of major hubs will be cheaper (more legs to more hubs are cheaper)</li><li>Flights that provide shorter layovers will be marketable at higher prices, longer layovers may be cheaper</li></ol><div>With those relatively clear rules in mind, we could narrow the flight options to several viable options.&nbsp;</div><div><ul><li>The American Flight via LGA/JFK</li><li>The Delta Flight via JFK</li><li>The United Flight via FRA (and ORD)</li><li>The Cathay Flight via ORD and HKG</li></ul><div>The problem is that with each of these flight options we are having to prioritize without any&nbsp;measurable&nbsp;which rules to follow. Also, we cannot put a value on arriving early or late to the meeting or having to leave home earlier. This is a more common problem than we might realize with our engineers. Our engineers have to make decisions that they know affect costs, but many times without the tools they need to recognize the cost of their decisions.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>If we now introduce the cost measurement to the travel example:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jQuVf-Q6IsY/T8WpT2n6nWI/AAAAAAAAGlE/oRe7nWbNs3c/s1600/hipmunk+_with+costs.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jQuVf-Q6IsY/T8WpT2n6nWI/AAAAAAAAGlE/oRe7nWbNs3c/s400/hipmunk+_with+costs.bmp" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><br />We now can see that some of the "rules" did not apply to this particular scenario. The cheapest flight overall did not have the longest layovers and did not have more legs. In fact the flight that by "rules" wisdom the "best" the CATHAY flight that maximized inconvenience and therefore seemed to be the one that would be cheapest was a scant $8000 at the time of this posting. Not to mention that it effectively force the traveler to make enough miles to circumnavigate the globe without actually having the benefit of doing so.<br /><br />But where HIPMUNK really shines is the further filtering function of AGONY.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4e_8wxhhOfM/T8Wqlv_aMjI/AAAAAAAAGlM/9mYkX_mED2c/s1600/hipmunk+_with+agony.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4e_8wxhhOfM/T8Wqlv_aMjI/AAAAAAAAGlM/9mYkX_mED2c/s400/hipmunk+_with+agony.bmp" width="400" /></a></div>With Agony as a filter we can see that the relatively low cost of $1630 a mere $48 dollars more buys us a flight with a shorter layover less agony. The fact that it also has no flight changes in the US may or may-not have any affect on the agony algorithm used, but for me and any seasoned traveler knows that EU member nations on the continent are less of a headache than the average US airport for layovers (Heathrow lately being a major exception).<br /><br />What did this teach me about engineering?<br /><br /><ul><li>That without a clear methodology for weighing out the multiple dimensions of decision drivers we simply cannot make sound decisions; We will most likely end up shorting one criteria for another</li><li>If we accept that there will be some compromise we can use background analytics to weigh out many seemingly intangible cost/benefits of the various options that we consider</li><li>If we did not consider that there were more than one option and thought that the first answer that successfully met the "quality criteria" we may have never recognized these better solutions; imagine if we just took the first flight that got us from A-B on time</li></ul><br />Thank to HIPMUNK for not only being my travel search of choice, but for helping me illustrate to my colleagues that our vision of a multi-dimensional decision engine is, in fact, the way to go.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&amp;bc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;fc1=000000&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;t=selfp-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as4&amp;m=amazon&amp;f=ifr&amp;ref=ss_til&amp;asins=3540881123" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><br /><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/Yq1203hdd0U" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2012/05/what-hipmunkcom-taught-me-about.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-69338149447763755502012-05-24T07:28:00.001-04:002012-05-24T09:31:11.097-04:00Addressing first order problems with third order solutions<div>The sign shown in this photo is a none too uncommon sight in the restrooms of many places in the world. Necessitated by frequent blockages of the plumbing when coarse paper towels are flushed.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-zW6HxBG52-M/T74bcIzIFoI/AAAAAAAAFmk/cI43Fn1Sk9Q/2012-05-23_17-50-13_69_Tony_Dirt.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-zW6HxBG52-M/T74bcIzIFoI/AAAAAAAAFmk/cI43Fn1Sk9Q/2012-05-23_17-50-13_69_Tony_Dirt.png" /></a></div>Placing a sign such as this might seem a solution to the problem at hand but does it address the root of the problem? Sure if people stop putting paper towel in the toilet the problem of the plugged toilets should go away, right? But did it consider why people go to the trouble of walking to the toilet with the paper towel to flush it?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ftjcfx.com/br101ltxlrpAFFJGJDIACCBHJJJB" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.ftjcfx.com/br101ltxlrpAFFJGJDIACCBHJJJB" /></a>When the problem is that people needed to use the towels instead of a more flushable media to "do their business", is this the most elegant solution? No. If the stalls never run out of favorable paper to use for the toilet duty, does that not keep the towels out of the loo?<br /><br />In my other life as a sheet metal stamping plant process improvement specialist, we faced an issue where during part shipping "surface lows" appeared in some doors we stamped. The quality manager did a detailed study of the issue and narrowed the occurences to situations where the part was lifted from the conveyor in a certain matter. He wrote a SWI (standard work instruction) imploring the rackers to only handle the part in a certain manner to prevent the issue from cropping up. In fact the only way to fix the problem was to address the forming of the parts several operations earlier. <br /><br /> <br /><b>Now consider this applied to professional issues:</b><br /><ul><li>When quality issues in the plant keep cropping up; do we dim the lights in the inspection area (even dismantle it; yes, that really happened once). Or should we find the root cause?&nbsp;</li><li>If warantee costs skyrocket; do we change the terms of our warantees? Or do we improve our product?&nbsp;</li><li>When the scuttlebutt in the work place is critical of ones performance; do we ask the staff to limit intra-personnel discussions? Or should we mine the criticism as valuable fodder for improvement or change?</li><li>If the blank washer is leaving too many particles of "dirt and slivers" on the sheet metal; do we uninstall the blank washers? Or find the source of the impurities that the blank washer imparted to the sheet metal?</li></ul><br />Take a look around your place. Are you asking your people to stop flushing the paper towel? Better look to the seat of the problem.<br /><br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/Rx6Rdt9PGk4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2012/05/addressing-first-order-problems-with.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-73643294335732910752012-05-22T08:32:00.000-04:002012-05-22T08:32:23.516-04:00What makes a good trainer?<div>Technical training (for skills like engineering software, machine repair, electrical maintanence, troubleshooting, or any technical skills transfer) requires a different breed of trainer. Having worked for nearly 18 years as/with/around technical training and education I have had the pleasure to work with some of the best, as well as some of the worst.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Admin/BkFill/Default_image_group/2011/7/29/1311956896615/Teacher-training-007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Admin/BkFill/Default_image_group/2011/7/29/1311956896615/Teacher-training-007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />What are the traits to look for when searching for the effective trainer for your technical products? It may be stuff that you can't find in their CV or resume unless you read between the lines.<br /><br />The best trainers I met were almost maddeningly curious--about everything. My first mentor in technical training wanted to figure out how everything worked, broadly and deeply. That things worked was never enough, he had to get into it. He was curous about all thing, all people, all points of view. If we differed in view on anything he would want to know more. Not prove the other wrong.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSkyL4yrkhVshCq7rmKDIoeW8QhAnjCIkJ_ey0Gai8PHoY0G1ie" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSkyL4yrkhVshCq7rmKDIoeW8QhAnjCIkJ_ey0Gai8PHoY0G1ie" /></a></div><br />Effective trainers like to make others shine. Inneffective trainers use the training platform as a way to demonstrate their smarts.&nbsp; Really painful trainers teach by showing others what they know, &amp; glow when their students stare slackjawed at them as they elucidate on the nuggets of their esoteric and private knowledge store.<br /><br />We never hired anybody to be a trainer without forcing them to do multiple presentations to multiple people. Any trainer worth their while would never shy from this. Nor would they worry about now knowing what to present on, everybody has mastery of some skill worth presenting on. A good trainer can make a training class of anything.<br /><br />What educational requirements should we look for? Most important is an educational background that demonstrates an ability to learn and apply knowledge. As an engineer I am biased toward the field of engineering as a good source for trainers. But I have worked with excellent trainers who came from the military, mechanical and electrical engineering, i have worked with some with PhD's and other with no degree at all. The ability to be effective at training was not evident on the resume (though experience in training on the resume is good to see) but most important was the drive to learn new things and share with others.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://insidetech.monster.com/nfs/insidetech/attachment_images/0012/4995/resume_crop380w.jpg?1277318894" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://insidetech.monster.com/nfs/insidetech/attachment_images/0012/4995/resume_crop380w.jpg?1277318894" width="320" /></a></div><br />When I took a job with one company they took it on faith that I would be good at training. I was a little surprised that they never asked me to make a presentation and as luck has it I think I did well for that company. But to leave such an important thing to luck, or worse to take the word of the applicant as the only measure of training fit would be highly unwise.<br /><br />It doesn't matter what the topic is that they present and teach for the interview. In fact if it is "off topic" even better. The good trainer should be able to take anything that they know and measurably transfer knowledge and skill. They should leave the participants in the presentation wanting more. <br /><br />If this person is not expert at the topic you want taught already that is not a roadblock. They needn't be the "best" at (insert training goal here); They only need to be the best at learning and transfering what they learned.&nbsp; Diverse resumes with broader curricula and experiences as opposed to "deep" knowledge in just one area. Diverse hobbies and tastes are also helpful, and a cultural and social flexibility as the trainer will undoubtedly need to deal with all sorts in the course of thei job.<br /><br />As a parting word I will paraphrase one of my favorite instructors Gerald Pool of GM "in the valley of the blind, the one eyed man is king." You can teach a new hire to be that one eyed man, but the ability and drive to lead will be up to them. That is what you need to seek out.</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/pF7QwmCcqC0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2012/05/what-makes-good-trainer.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-63508270106540444542012-05-14T11:27:00.002-04:002012-05-14T13:25:56.744-04:00Don't blog where you eat.The old idiom; don't s*** where you eat gets updated.<br /><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/mOUqcrRm4gA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2012/05/dont-blog-where-you-eat.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-14449871543164765542012-05-02T04:43:00.001-04:002012-05-02T04:43:18.499-04:00Mechanical Turk Work: A little experimentRegistered recently to work as a <i>mechanical turk</i> for Amazon. Will post here progress and supply feedback. don't know what I am in for. Other than getting paid to wile away the hours on the internet.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/webservices/mechanical-turk/logoAI3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/webservices/mechanical-turk/logoAI3.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>So far the interface is a bit of a pain. The list of available HITs (human intelligence tasks) is not very friendly. Keeps resetting to the top of the list after viewing then rejecting tasks from later pages. Does not recall tasks that have already been performed (for which you are no longer eligible in some cases).<br /><br />But to date I have earned $1.60. &nbsp;Almost as much as my blog.....<br /><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/XomvPJ8E0lc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2012/05/mechanical-turk-work-little-experiment.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-24853089937992126282012-04-06T11:15:00.000-04:002012-04-06T11:15:11.078-04:00Review: ZAGG smartbudsOf recent tech purchases the ones I get the most use of are my <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-4485827-10937066" target="_top">ZAGGsparq</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-4485827-10937066" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-4485827-10610556" target="_top">ZAGG SmartBuds</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-4485827-10610556" width="1" />.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oDICfD5LQZw/T38AQGHKhoI/AAAAAAAAEJM/WLQk8TgowkA/s1600/2012-04-06_10-37-21_227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oDICfD5LQZw/T38AQGHKhoI/AAAAAAAAEJM/WLQk8TgowkA/s400/2012-04-06_10-37-21_227.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-4485827-10937066" target="_top">ZAGGsparq</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-4485827-10937066" width="1" />&nbsp;is a battery back-up that allows me to recharge my USB powered devices. Most often my 6 O'clock brick (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005AXWRIA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=selfp-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B005AXWRIA">Motorola DROID Global</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=selfp-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=B005AXWRIA" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />) could potentially leave me without the needed web access and GPS I might need on my travels. But with the ZAGGsparq I am able to fully recharge my phone in just under an hour. What is the big deal about that&nbsp;you&nbsp;might ask? Well how about doing that while not having to stay tethered to a car or wall outlet. <br /><br />The 6000 mAh battery within the&nbsp; <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-4485827-10937066" target="_top">ZAGGsparq</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-4485827-10937066" width="1" />&nbsp;allows me to merely pull out a micro USB cord from my pocket plug it between the&nbsp; <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-4485827-10937066" target="_top">ZAGGsparq</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-4485827-10937066" width="1" />&nbsp;&nbsp;and my phone and bring the battery up to full all while potentially on the move. Walking, riding, skiing, canoeing, or any other mode of transport. While in Europe for my frequent business travels I am able to universally charge my phone without having to carry around much more than the&nbsp; <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-4485827-10937066" target="_top">ZAGGsparq</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-4485827-10937066" width="1" />&nbsp;&nbsp;and one cable. I carry two cables a USB mini, with a mini-micro adapter plus my iPod cable.<br /><br />A number of times I have helped out my coworkers and felly traveler by charging up their iPhones and other devices while on the move. If you have ever truly relied on your phone while traveling you know how important this is.<br /><br />The&nbsp; <a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-4485827-10610556" target="_top">ZAGG SmartBuds</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-4485827-10610556" width="1" />&nbsp;have been equally important. Their simple but elegant design solve the problem posed by many of the in-ear Phone headsets; "How do I keep from yanking the buds out of my ears constantly? &nbsp;and How do I keep them handy when I am not listening or talking?"<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zagg.com/images/zbuds/zb_full-zsb-black-03.jpg?1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://www.zagg.com/images/zbuds/zb_full-zsb-black-03.jpg?1" width="320" /></a></div>The&nbsp; <a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-4485827-10610556" target="_top">ZAGG SmartBuds</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-4485827-10610556" width="1" />&nbsp;have a long enough cord to leave the device in my pocket while walking and keeping the head phone cord looped around my neck when not in use.<br /><br />This design always leaves me wondering how nobody else ever thought of it first. Now it is simple enough to use the PTT (push to talk) button which allows for phone answering while hooked up to my phone, or to pause and play my music wen hooked up to my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FA1NFA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=whatkamreads-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B001FA1NFA">Apple iPod nano 16 GB Blue (4th Generation) [Previous Model]</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=whatkamreads-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=B001FA1NFA" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. Though I suppose it is hte same if you have&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002M3SO0G/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=whatkamreads-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B002M3SO0G">6th Generation nano </a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=whatkamreads-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=B002M3SO0G" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />&nbsp;or &nbsp;an&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005GS3C9C/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=selfp-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B005GS3C9C">Apple iPod touch</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=selfp-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=B005GS3C9C" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zagg.com/images/zbuds/zb_full-zsb-black-02.jpg?1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://www.zagg.com/images/zbuds/zb_full-zsb-black-02.jpg?1" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">the $100 dollars I spent for my&nbsp;<a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-4485827-10937066" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_top">ZAGGsparq</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-4485827-10937066" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" width="1" />&nbsp;and the $50 for the&nbsp; <a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-4485827-10610556" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_top">ZAGG SmartBuds</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-4485827-10610556" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" width="1" />, was money well spent. &nbsp;Actually, I did get mine on special when they ran this special. Which may or may not be active at the moment. But it was enough to convince be to buy another set later.</div>Limited time offer from ZAGG.com: <a href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-4485827-10867311" target="_top">Get free ZAGGsmartbuds when you buy a ZAGGsparq!</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-4485827-10867311" width="1" /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/akh_9X9urCA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com4http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2012/04/review-zagg-smartbuds.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-7808713846311441862012-03-09T16:29:00.001-05:002012-03-09T16:29:17.676-05:00Money "well" spent: do you feel safer?<div><p>airline security is measured not in the number of events averted but apparently in the expenditure of money that is supposed to provide secutity. With this measurable the Transportation Security Agency is a howling success. </p><p>But, are any safer. How much money is making us any safer? The infographic at the link below illustrates how much waste exists.<br></p><p>Grope and pillage: TSA's wasteful spending [infographic] http://t.co/6hMUHSKB -- Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki)</p></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/jlTyZ6j9wjc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2012/03/money-spent-do-you-feel-safer.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-39221321132589768062012-02-28T08:40:00.000-05:002012-02-28T08:40:21.634-05:00Robocall voicemail log<div>Okay, a little bit of editing and here it is. The audio of the vme we got regarding the robocalls that have apparently come from our number.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/JD5ne6FeaVY?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD5ne6FeaVY&amp;feature=youtube_gdata_player">Watch "ANGRY Robotcalled" on YouTube</a><br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/aHI58uyL-ag" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com1http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2012/02/robocall-voicemail-log.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-30753846197845846152012-02-27T14:31:00.000-05:002012-02-27T14:58:33.194-05:00RoboCalling and it's weirder repercussionsThis Month something odd started to happen at my house. The phone would ring, we'd ignore it (as it is primary season in Michigan) if we did not recognize the caller ID, and then we'd see if there was a Voice Mail message later. It turns out that these calls were originating from all over Michigan. And believe it or not they were not all ROBOCALLS. In fact many were plainly from real humans who were angry about ROBOCALLS that they were receiving.<br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2012/02/FCC-Enacts-New-Robocalls-Law.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2012/02/FCC-Enacts-New-Robocalls-Law.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: www.inqusitr.com</td></tr></tbody></table><div><div>But why would they call that number (the number assigned to my non-voting age daughter). As far as I can tell they were calling back the number that had shown up on their caller-ID or they had *69 called-back whomever had made an annoying ROBOCALL to their phones.</div><div><br /></div><div>Does this make any sense? It appears as if interested&nbsp;Political&nbsp;Operatives who are actively smearing Romney and Santorum in my area are using my daughters phone number as their "callback number" for these ROBOCALLS. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Have any of you heard of anything similar. Really annoying and a little&nbsp;disturbing. My kid is afraid to answer her phone right now for fear of having some angry recipient of a ROBOCALL yell at her.</div><div><br /></div><div>So far, I have checked with some national advocates against ROBOCALLS (twitter&nbsp;<span class="username js-action-profile-name" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #999999; font: inherit; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="account-group js-account-group js-action-profile js-user-profile-link" data-user-id="5998452" href="https://twitter.com/#!/EndTheRoboCalls" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><s style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">@</s><b style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EndTheRoboCalls</b></a>)</span><br />and our Michigan Secretary of State (in MI the Board of Canvassers report to her); alas nobody can tell me what I can do about this, nor if the practice would be legal or ethical.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><br /></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/RvJkW3CjMEw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2012/02/robocalling-and-its-weirder.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-63681599989308906232011-08-31T05:21:00.001-04:002012-07-12T09:22:45.184-04:00XCom Global MiFi: Review after "practical" use<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">During the meetings today, I ran some short tests to the effectiveness of the MiFi wireless access point we rented from XCom. This post for example I create using the connection created by the device, and try to upload some pictures and see how well it works.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.speedtest.net/result/1458749570.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" id=":current_picnik_image" src="http://www.speedtest.net/result/1458749570.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">speed tests with connection via HSPA</td></tr></tbody></table><br />http://www.speedtest.net/result/1458749570.png<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zv0bcq1LoDc/Tl38dzl4owI/AAAAAAAACek/lrQo75Qaeqs/s1600/1310869665068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zv0bcq1LoDc/Tl38dzl4owI/AAAAAAAACek/lrQo75Qaeqs/s400/1310869665068.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this image uploaded in about 4-5 seconds during this test 0.5 MB</td></tr></tbody></table>larger resolution images:<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yaUZzCOQdps/Tl38x4GaWPI/AAAAAAAACeo/l1xZICJs3SY/s1600/IMG_20110828_072856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yaUZzCOQdps/Tl38x4GaWPI/AAAAAAAACeo/l1xZICJs3SY/s400/IMG_20110828_072856.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">15-17 seconds for this higher resolution 1.3 MB</td></tr></tbody></table>I dare not at this time try to stream a video (i should be paying attention)....<br />and see if location in the room finds me access to the 3g network which is not consistent in this area of Italy. <br /><br />Cannot make any complaints about the Device or the service (it is not XCom issue that the Italian ether is not friendly for a 3G signal during my trip).<br /><br />Likes:<br /><br /><ul><li>relative ease: ordered online, shipped to office, flew to Italy and Bang on the internet</li><li>no surprises: Flat rate for the daily internet hook-up</li><li>Multiple users on single wireless connection and rate-plan</li><li>reasonable price of occasional short trips, with my amount of travel I might be better off getting a local flat rate SIM</li></ul><div>Dislikes:</div><div><ul><li>Battery life (could use for about 2-3 hours on single charge, supplied back up battery is helpful. but in Foreign land where converters and power is a premium might be nice to last longer, or ship with a USB-micro cable so I could charge on the fly with my Zagg Sparq2.0</li><li>shipping costs if booked less than 10 days in advance</li><li>Italian SIM did not work in cities where I had connecting flights (Netherlands) may have been my fault, for not indicating that I needed a roaming SIM</li></ul><div>Overall I have to say that for the occasional traveler this could be listed among the essentials, especially as US mobile providers clamp down on roaming Data charges. Nobody has All-You-Can-Eat global any more.<br /><br />Xcom Global is a winner</div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/RwSnA9qCw2A" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-xcom-global-mifi-usage.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-68835212152598147252011-08-26T10:03:00.000-04:002011-08-26T10:03:51.641-04:00XCom Global: Mobile Hotspot review (pre-trip)For an upcoming trip, I along with 5 colleagues will be traveling to Italy for a Corporate Sales Meeting. With all &nbsp;our sales people out of the office, this could be damaging for our ability to respond to software licensing concerns, sales issues, and general business. To minimize any potential fallout from falling off the grid for a few days we rented a Wireless Hotpot from <a href="http://www.xcomglobal.com/">XCom global</a>.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bkSi7NVlZ7A/Tleca_90wTI/AAAAAAAACdg/j4AxNZ1Fm2k/s1600/2011-08-26_09-05-03_105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bkSi7NVlZ7A/Tleca_90wTI/AAAAAAAACdg/j4AxNZ1Fm2k/s400/2011-08-26_09-05-03_105.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What arrives from XCom</td></tr></tbody></table>Once you order the device from the companies website you will&nbsp;receive&nbsp;(a few day prior to the start of the trip) &nbsp;the contents shown above and a carry case in the mail. They use a standard mi-fi by Novatel with a pre-installed SIM for the country we plan to travel to, in this case Italy.<br /><br />Rates quoted start at $14.95 per day for "unlimited data" XCom does not mention any variable speed throttling but we will have to see.<br /><br />To use the Access Point we should be able to find the device from the WiFi finder of any of our laptops and smart phones up to 5 Devices at a time.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YmOSu8qlHC4/TlefXDVBjuI/AAAAAAAACdk/5iSm3AZaCKI/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YmOSu8qlHC4/TlefXDVBjuI/AAAAAAAACdk/5iSm3AZaCKI/s400/Untitled.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Once connected the first browser window brings you straight to the admin page and Login window. After keying in the Login you can connect to the internet via the MiFi.<br /><br /><br />Another option is to buy your own device and use a prepaid or Flat rate SIM card from Whichever European country you like.<br /><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/V4QhH5llWZI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com2http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/08/xcom-global-mobile-hotspot-review-pre.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-16708438503810192562011-08-19T14:52:00.000-04:002011-08-19T14:52:02.049-04:00Employee MoraleCains Brain (<a href="http://www.cainsbrain.com/a-guide-to-employee-morale">http://www.cainsbrain.com/a-guide-to-employee-morale</a>) not too long ago posted this cartoon, only recently brought to my attention by Guy Kawasaki and the folks at <a href="http://holykaw.alltop.com/the-employee-morale-chart-comic">HolyKaw and Alltop.com</a>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cainsbrain.com/wp-content/uploads/morale-guide.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://www.cainsbrain.com/wp-content/uploads/morale-guide.png" width="596" /></a></div>Enjoy.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/lv73TAfAcnU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/08/employee-morale.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-25535767011415610652011-08-18T07:26:00.001-04:002011-08-18T07:26:39.291-04:00Telecommuting: is it a good ideaAs a consultant, employee, and manager I have often struggled with the topic of Telecommuting. Working from home was one of the "perks" of going independent for me years ago, the result was mixed: days and weeks cut off from humanity, with a dash of inefficiency, mingled with guilt and resentment on the part of my colleagues.&nbsp;<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/17/2009/08/500x_3835236876_3973a588b3_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/17/2009/08/500x_3835236876_3973a588b3_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Gawker.com via Lifehacker.com</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div>In my own experience I had one job where the office was 4 hours drive from home, and I was the only employee who lived outside the city, state/province, country boundaries. Typically my job involved me calling on our customers on-site, performing training on-site, and supporting sales on-site. This was mostly a 3-4 day per week activity, with general administrative labor and follow-up being done from a "home-office"-the basement in my suburban rental home.</div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img4.realsimple.com/images/tv/episode-101/101-after-office-1_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://img4.realsimple.com/images/tv/episode-101/101-after-office-1_300.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit realsimple.com</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div>Other office staff resented the fact that I worked from home rather than and "office". The Solution? The Self-proclaimed-die-expert and Techni-ho was asked to drive from home to the office on the off days. Not just AN office, but THE office. So the policy was that if I had an off day, i would rent a car, drive to the office and "work" and leave when time allowed me to complete by drive before the end of the work day.</div><div><br /></div><div>Correct. If I had one day off, I would rent the car, drive-in, walk-in eat lunch (on expenses) and leave for home (it made for just over a nine-hour day. Efficient? No, did it put an end to the debate over home-offices? Not really. It did put an end to my willingness to stay at that company, but created my first consultancy, once I was a consultant they no longer cared what I did on off days.<br /><div><br /></div><div>As we weigh the possibilities of allowing our staff to work from home one could unilaterally make an edict (usually not constructive) or just roll with it. In either case we might pay a price later. The Infographic below sums it up all very nicely (a little bit snarky but for the most part on the mark).<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mindflash.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/11.08.11_Mindflash_WorkFromHome_v21.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mindflash.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/11.08.11_Mindflash_WorkFromHome_v21.png" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Mindflash</td></tr></tbody></table>When you make the decision to either work from home or not, or to create an open policy for Home office hours. Be sure to have rational reasoning behind the policy. It can succeed, but only if you create the environment for it to work.<br /><br />Treat your employees like grown-ups and they might prove worthy; treat them like children who can't be trusted you most definitely get what you expected.&nbsp;</div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/B2JbzB06pMM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/08/telecommuting-is-it-good-idea.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-6412696789671394682011-07-28T13:41:00.000-04:002011-07-28T13:41:26.346-04:00Stereotypes, bias, and the mindAs a member of a culturally&nbsp;stigmatized&nbsp;group (Americans) in the eyes of many of the people I come into contact with while I travel for work. I found these designs by <a href="http://alphadesigner.com/project-mapping-stereotypes.html">Yanko Tsvetkov</a> highly entertaining. After all, I recognize that the we, of the much vilified USA, have earned our bad reputation. We often are loud talking, impatient, greedy&nbsp;capitalists.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_757750377"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/4977428297_106de52dd0_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://alphadesigner.com/project-mapping-stereotypes.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: small;">From Yanko Tsvetkov's Mapping Stereotypes</span></a></td></tr></tbody></table>Stereotypes&nbsp;of many Europeans that are held my Americans are not too far off the mark. Stereotypes and biases (cultural&nbsp;or otherwise) are an important part of how people work. With the amount of data that the typical person is confronted with daily, to process every decision, each interaction from a neutral stand point is a veritable impossibility.&nbsp;<div><a name='more'></a></div><div>The brain is hardwired to run off of these biases (or&nbsp;prejudices). What is important to note is how we use that bias. Do we blindly accept it, or do we thoughtfully challenge them? Knowing the bias likely held for us, should also inform how we can interact more effectively with strangers.<div><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://alphadesigner.com/img/600x428xartwork-mapping-stereotypes-24.jpg.pagespeed.ic.BfZ-lNPIwW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://alphadesigner.com/img/600x428xartwork-mapping-stereotypes-24.jpg.pagespeed.ic.BfZ-lNPIwW.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://alphadesigner.com/</td></tr></tbody></table>What do we project when we are in the foreign land, or the new city, or company. Do we support or contradict the&nbsp;stereotypes? Do we perceive that everybody that we meet falls into the&nbsp;stereotypes&nbsp;that have been assigned them?<br /><br />To not accept that the human mind runs on bias is short sighted, but to blindly follow those biases is what gets us into trouble. Some reading about how to use this understanding of bias and&nbsp;prejudice&nbsp;can be extracted from the following books:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thinkers-Toolkit-Powerful-Techniques-Problem/dp/0812928083?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=selfp-20&amp;link_code=btl&amp;camp=213689&amp;creative=392969" target="_blank">The Thinker's Toolkit: 14 Powerful Techniques for Problem Solving</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=selfp-20&amp;l=btl&amp;camp=213689&amp;creative=392969&amp;o=1&amp;a=0812928083" style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; cursor: move; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br /><div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blink-Power-Thinking-Without/dp/0316010669?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=selfp-20&amp;link_code=btl&amp;camp=213689&amp;creative=392969" target="_blank">Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=selfp-20&amp;l=btl&amp;camp=213689&amp;creative=392969&amp;o=1&amp;a=0316010669" style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; cursor: move; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div><br /><br /><a href="http://alphadesigner.com/project-mapping-stereotypes.html">Mapping Stereotypes by alphadesigner</a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-4485827-10863420" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.wego.com';return true;" target="_top">Search for Travel Deals</a></div></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/Ql2djnQSUsA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/07/stereotypes-bias-and-mind.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-18111515565543802142011-06-27T10:24:00.000-04:002011-06-27T10:24:12.741-04:00What can we do when the sales team accepts the customers Status Quo?In a recent workshop with the sales and technical team of a small, yet significant CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) software company I was struck by the number of times that the sales team conceded that the "customer doesn't do it that way" so they don't see them changing methods.<br /><br />Since when is selling about letting the <i><b>status quo</b></i> be good good enough? How about this? The status quo is that we don't get any revenue from the prospect, why challenge that in the eyes of the customer?<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://wolfprint.stritch.edu/uploadedImages/Arts_and_Entertainment/as%20seem%20tv%20founder.jpg?n=6236" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="http://wolfprint.stritch.edu/uploadedImages/Arts_and_Entertainment/as%20seem%20tv%20founder.jpg?n=6236" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ron Popeil never sold anything by accepting others view of good enough (image &nbsp;wolfprint.stritch.edu)</td></tr></tbody></table>Is it not the challenge for the sales person to convince the Desert Nomad to buy sand, or the Eskimo Ice, or the Lady in the white gloves want Ketchup flavored Popsicles? Then why, when I present the use-case for our software, do we roll over when the customer expresses that the model doesn't fit there current business paradigm? OK, if you say so. No need to grow our business. Have a nice day.<br /><br /><ul><li>Since when has selling bee about completely ceding the value-arguments to our technical people?</li><li>Why is it so bad to challenge the customers feeling that "we are fine" without any change?</li><li>No, you don't tell them they've been doing it wrong, you just show them a better way.</li></ul><br />If you don't believe that what your are selling is a needed improvement to the <b><i>status quo</i></b>, please move on; get out of the way of those who can offer change.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/EaG3AKIeNOM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-can-we-do-when-sales-team-accepts.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-5006799232765481572011-05-11T09:58:00.000-04:002011-05-11T09:58:20.454-04:00Infographic: the Freelancer’s Game of Life<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The folks at FreshBooks posted this <a href="http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2011/05/10/infographic-the-freelancers-game-of-life/">infographic on their blog.</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/LIFEOFAFREELANCER.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="1280" src="http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/LIFEOFAFREELANCER.png" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2011/05/10/infographic-the-freelancers-game-of-life/">Infographic: the Freelancer’s Game of Life</a><br /><br />Of course it is fun to imagine that freelancing is all rainbows and kittens, but in the game of life there are often more pitfalls than the few move back # spaces possible landing areas.<br /><br /><ul><li>You realize that taking vacation is the same as UNEMPLOYMENT lose 2 moves</li><li>Selling time for money means you never have any time move back 3</li><li>There are 24 billable hours in each day, land overseas account, tele-presence&nbsp;and move forward</li><li>Tax&nbsp;deductible&nbsp;is not the same as free, pay the bank $2000</li><li>Your non-equity partners make off with your account, move back 1 space</li><li>You finished the job, now get them to pay you, sit out next round</li><li><a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-4485827-10777967" target="_top">You need find a contract house to manage the project move forward 5 spaces<img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-4485827-10777967" width="1" /></a></li><a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-4485827-10777967" target="_top"> </a></ul><div>Being successful as a freelancer is still something that eludes most who try. I doubt there are stats out there, but I would not be surprised if more than 75% of freelancers have to resort to going native after the first 2 years. Having survived 7 myself before getting a J.O.B. it is not always a sunny as this infographic makes it sound. First of all, i don't know many freelancers that even know the meaning of retirement.</div><div><a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-4485827-10777967" target="_top"><br /></a></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/qwkrZeFwjTA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/05/infographic-freelancers-game-of-life.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-68640979464239062642011-05-01T22:01:00.004-04:002011-05-04T08:44:03.746-04:00Streetwalking, trolling and phishing: Getting the freelance gigGetting yourself out "there" is a constant challenge for the full-time Techni-HO. Sure there are Social Media outlets like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. And of course we keep up blogs, journal articles, and public speaking events. But for day-to-day promoting yourself or finding other like minded "HOs" where can we go? In the realm of selling your time for money--Techni-ho fashion--word of mouth alone will not put food on the table.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-4485827-10778668" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_top"><img alt="Build Your Team" border="0" height="250" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-4485827-10778668" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elance provides ways to create and manage your "e-presence" team</td></tr></tbody></table>Elance offers a solution-and I hope they don't mind the allusion-to become your TechniPimp. As mentioned in earlier blog posts one of the downsides of going fully Freelance is not only finding the work and doing the work, but getting paid for the work. This also means negotiating and collecting fees.<br />Elance offers an online solution to many of those growing pains.<br /><br />By offering a single storefront wherein "Johns" can cruise for talent, and the "Hos" can show their wares. Elance provides a method by which Techni-Hos and Johns can meet up, set up the commercial aspects of the job, and even ways to manage the project-by allowing for reviews of "Work-in-progress".<br /><br />Start by creating a Free Account and first Free Job posting.<br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/8r97ft1zt0GLLPMPJOGIHOOOQOM" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.elance.com';return true;" target="_top">Looking for work? Sign up at Elance and search over 30,000 jobs today.</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/3a74m-3sywHMMQNQKPHJIPPPRPN" width="1" /><br /><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/h081hz74z6MRRVSVPUMONUUUVWP" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.elance.com';return true;" target="_top">Find a world of talent online at Elance.</a> Post your job today.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.tqlkg.com/i1103g04tzxINNRORLQIKJQQQRSL" width="1" /></blockquote>From there you can access all the of the services that Elance offers. As a contractor all the fees will be paid by the Johns as is right. The fees for the Johns to pay are very reasonable for role that they pay-as far as techni-pimps go very reasonable. 6.75%-8.75% as far as mark-ups go is very reasonable.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/dk116vpyvpxCHHLILFKCEDKLHJMM" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.elance.com';return true;" target="_top"><br /><img alt="A World of Talent Ready to Work" border="0" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/q7105fz2rxvGLLPMPJOGIHOPLNQQ" /></a><br /><br />Unlike many contract houses they are not trying to get ungodly mark-ups on the talent the offer, after off the value-add for most contract houses is exceptionally disproportionate to the mark-up factors. I once worked with a Pimp who charged a 3x markup for a proposal that I wrote, filling a niche that I uniquely fit, with 0-zip-nil value add; when the client puked on the price they had the gall to tell me that my rate was too high.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/2eU1eOi8g5o" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/05/streetwalking-trolling-and-phishing.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-472236740081679642011-04-05T08:19:00.000-04:002011-04-05T08:24:19.258-04:00The ZaggSparq2.0 in action<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ckq5OBRyw00/TZsJ9DoSJCI/AAAAAAAACDM/i7WTqDQKIeM/s1600/2011-04-04_20-54-17_830-759260.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ckq5OBRyw00/TZsJ9DoSJCI/AAAAAAAACDM/i7WTqDQKIeM/s320/2011-04-04_20-54-17_830-759260.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592074306861540386" /></a></p><div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px">One airport finally doing what is long overdue and making power outlets more available. At DTW McNamara terminal they are installing AC power outlets at the ends of the rows of seats near each gate. Regularly spaced every few rows they are a welcome change from having to shuffle around near the walls to try to share the outlets with the other passengers desperate for a charge.<br><br>On missing element: a shallow shelf. Cords stretching down to the floor and nearby seats is sub-optimal.</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/G1zS9x90D7I" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/04/zaggsparq20-in-action.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-84470184485178480362011-04-04T21:16:00.001-04:002011-04-04T21:16:12.279-04:00The personal touch wins again<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px">The extra two seconds it takes to smile and offer kindness to your customers often goes unnoticed. But failure to do so always gets our goat. <br><br>Today let's decide to reward those positive interactions with customer service. Fuad and Cane provided another great example of positive and genuinely welcoming service, that I could have easily let transparently float past me. Delta as a company does something that I haven't seen enough. They encouraged me to look for and reward exemplary customer service. <br><br>Each year I get 5 "mydeltarewards" vouchers that give me a chance to note and reward great customer service. My question to Delta is: why are medallion members the only ones who you encourage to look for this?</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/g6xRzTWlYOY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/04/personal-touch-wins-again.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-28145783791144744492011-03-30T13:13:00.000-04:002011-03-30T13:13:15.710-04:00Why don't all technical explanations make this much sense<div>Go to see a great video dusted off from the archives at Boingboing and it got me thinking. IN todays world why are we not getting such good brass tacks explanations anymore. </div><div><br /></div><div><object width="500" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/F40ZBDAG8-o&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/F40ZBDAG8-o&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="500" height="300"></embed></object><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2011/03/30/how-a-differential-g.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29">How a differential gear works - Boing Boing</a></div><div><br /></div><div>The writers and producers of this video did something that we are getting less and less today. They broke the problem into reasonable chunks of content and presented it in a logical manner. Without condescension or over simplification. Started with the basic observations, and added the appropriate amount of information with each step.</div><div><br /></div><div>I todays world of 140 characters, and short attention spans it seems like people assume they are too busy to do that extra homework in advance. But it is now with these abbreviated communications that we need to make sure that the bursts of information we give to people hit the mark effectively.</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/kvXOZV-KXjU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/03/why-dont-all-technical-explanations.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-21626651251332994342011-03-23T09:43:00.000-04:002011-03-23T09:43:28.367-04:00Have you read Seth's Blog: The triumph of coal marketingAs I read the RSS feed for <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/03/the-triumph-of-coal-marketing.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29">Seth's Blog: The triumph of coal marketing</a>&nbsp;I was struck by the fact that with all the disaster that we see coming from the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami and the nuclear plants there, that many&nbsp;opportunists&nbsp;are heading straight to the anti-nuclear (pro-coal) message.<br /><br />Read Seth's blog since he makes a different point than i do here.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b31569e20147e3645469970b-450wi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b31569e20147e3645469970b-450wi" width="400" /></a></div>Fear mongering and pandering to special interests are heading straight into overdrive at certain news outlets. Now this is not to make a point as if the death toll from the nuclear incidents in Japan, or those we remember from Chernobyl are insignificant. NO FAR FROM IT. But merely that we tend to <i>"amplify sudden and horrible outcomes than it is to talk about the slow, grinding reality of day to day strife"</i>. <br /><br />Right now people all over the world are reacting to the issue, by stopping plans for future nuclear reactors,&nbsp;questioning&nbsp;and challenging the elected officials who previously backed them, and politicians are&nbsp;backpedaling&nbsp;away from prior positions supporting nuclear energy.<br /><br />The INCONVENIENT TRUTH here is that we cannot sustain the world populace's energy demand with our current power sources. Emerging countries and developed nations if they turn their back on nuclear will have to resort to Gas, oil, and what little we can get from Solar and Wind. But unfortunately, that will not fill the gap left by nuclear.<br /><br />to Paraphrase Winston Churchill: <b>Nuclear power is the worst form of energy, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.</b><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/B1qm-WO9jtI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com0http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/03/have-you-read-seths-blog-triumph-of.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7854503174794464832.post-121911450889891572011-03-22T13:19:00.000-04:002011-03-22T13:19:10.317-04:00Zagg Sparq2.0 initial thoughtsLast month I mentioned that I was going to order the Zagg Sparq2.0 emergency battery charger for my own personal use. I unpacked my own this past weekend and charged it Saturday night. The instructions ask for a 7-9 hour initial charge and i followed those instructions.<br /><br />After the over-night charge I left the Sparq unused for three days to see if the battery leached power the way some negative reviewers had said it would. Today (Tuesday) was the first shot at using. My own Droid2 had run its battery down to just over 15% (the point where i get reminders to charge). I plugged the unit in to the MicroUSB cord and my phone. 55 minutes later my phone was upto 70% and the Sparq showed all 4 LEDs (effectively fully charged).<br /><a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-4485827-10865037" target="_top"><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="250" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-4485827-10865037" width="250" /></a><br /><br />Later, my&nbsp;colleague&nbsp;plugged in his Android Phone. He charged his up from about 20% to 85% in just over and hour leaving my Sparq with 2 LEDs lit. Supposedly at a 50% reserve. So far, so good. I will use only the Sparq2.0 over the next day or so to provide my phone charge to see if I can get the 4 charges from it the the manufacturer promises. But I am impressed so far.<br /><br />At this point a must have for all business travelers who use smart phones.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/xyhsN/~4/VSxJa8F4Cy4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>eric kamhttps://plus.google.com/104297308857910945275noreply@blogger.com2http://tech-ho.blogspot.com/2011/03/zagg-sparq20-initial-thoughts.html